Schools Matter: Segregationists on Wake County Board Continue to Make Headlines

Schools Matter: Segregationists on Wake County Board Continue to Make Headlines

Segregationists on Wake County Board Continue to Make Headlines

Wake County's Republican school board majority is all lawyered up with an old Jesse Helms protegeand ready to take on all the "outside agitators" that the NAACP can send down from Washington to Raleigh. From today's News Observer editorial:

Farr has of late been quite active in service to the board -

ESEA Renewal: What We Know So Far - Politics K-12 - Education Week

ESEA Renewal: What We Know So Far - Politics K-12 - Education Week

ESEA Renewal: What We Know So Far

By Alyson Klein on March 10, 2010 9:22 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

It sounds like the Education Department is edging closer and closer to releasing its draft proposal on reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. And even though we haven't seen a comprehensive draft, a lot of the details have already been made public, either through announcements from the White House, the fiscal 2011 budget proposal, Race to the Top regulations, or U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's speeches.

For instance we already know that:

*The Obama administration wants to replace the current metric for gauging student achievement—adequate yearly progress—with a system that measures whether students are ready for college or a career.

*The administration wants to tie Title I funding to states' adoption of college- and career-ready standards.

*The administration also wants states to develop a definition of "teacher effectiveness" that is partially based on student outcomes. And it wants states

Schools Matter: Bob Samuels on Racism in California

Schools Matter: Bob Samuels on Racism in California

Bob Samuels on Racism in California

and elsewhere. From HuffPo, a clip:

. . . . In his book, The Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam reviews the latest studies of how racism works, and he documents some surprising findings. One of the more upsetting discoveries is that children as young as three-years-old will associate positive traits with white people and negative traits with black people regardless of the race of the child or the attitudes of the children's parents and teachers. 

Chris Cerf returns to the education private sector — but in Brazil | GothamSchools

Chris Cerf returns to the education private sector — but in Brazil | GothamSchools

Chris Cerf returns to the education private sector — but in Brazil

by Maura Walz

Since helping Mayor Michael Bloomberg win his third term last fall, former deputy schools chancellor Chris Cerf has almost completely disappeared from the New York City education landscape.

Perhaps he wanted warmer weather — Cerf is now the head of the new American arm of a Brazilian science curriculum company.

The company, Sangari Brasil, currently sells an elementary and middle school science program to school districts in Brazil and Argentina. It’s part of a larger international group that promotes science education, andrecently donated $1 million to help the National Science Teacher Association build a science education center in Northern Virginia.

Remainders: Will national standards mean national tests?

by Maura Walz

• Students at Brooklyn’s P.S. 24 embraced the message of the city’s “Respect for All” week.
• Seeing the letters A or F just before taking a test can influence how students perform, a study says.
• A first-year science teacher learns that complaints of “I’m bored” usually signal something deeper.
• A lawyer-blogger questions Arne Duncan’s new focus on fighting racism in public schools.
• Jay Mathews argues that national standards will eventually mean national standardized tests.
• Rick Hess posts the guidelines RttT finalists were given for next week’s presentations in D.C…
• …While the Aspen Institute is helping coach some finalists through dry runs of their pitches.
• James Merriman argues competition from charters leads district schools to connect with parents.
• While Teachable Moment thinks we’re taking the wrong lesson from charter-district school competition.
• And GothamSchools won a National Award for Education Reporting from the EWA today.

How Did the Servicers Do? Student Loan Commentary The Quick and the Ed

The Quick and the Ed

How Did the Servicers Do?

March 10th, 2010 | Category: Undergraduate Education

Share This Post

First quarter fiscal year 2010 customer service results for the four lenders chosen to service federal student loans sold to the U.S. Department of Education can be found here, with the methodology explained here.

Not much to see yet since the real work does not start until students enter repayment, but so far they are all pretty close. Borrowers and schools like Sallie Mae, while the federal personnel really prefer PHEAA.

Posted by Ben Miller at 6:44 pm | Tags: Customer Service, Federal Student Loans | No Comments

Student Loan Commentary (Cont.)

March 10th, 2010 | Category: Undergraduate Education

Share This Post

Over at Brainstorm, Diane Auer Jones responded to my earlier postcritiquing her arguments in favor of preserving a bank-based student loan system. I’ll try to provide some clarifications/critiques.

First, Jones writes that my original post confused private and federal loans because I was talking about the interest rate charged on alternative loans. But that wasn’t a mistake. It was a direct response to her talking about how current Stafford and PLUS loans are below the “market rate.” According to Jones, the market rate is

Sacramento Press / Local Red Cross Accepts Their Largest Donation for Haiti Relief

Sacramento Press / Local Red Cross Accepts Their Largest Donation for Haiti Relief

In photo left to right: David Fluitt, Raley's Pharmacy Supervisor and Haitian Aid Mission volunteer; Dawn Lindblom, American Red Cross Sacramento Sierra Chapter CEO; Michael Teel, Raley's President and CEO; Steve Turner, American Red Cross Sacramento Sierra Chapter Board Chair and Jennifer Teel-Wolter, Raley's Communitarian.

Local Red Cross Accepts Their Largest Donation for Haiti Relief   

The Sacramento Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross accepted their largest check for the Haiti Relief and Development Fund on Tuesday, March 9 from Raley’s President & CEO, Michael Teel.

From January 16 through February 13, all 134 Raley’s, Bel Air, Nob Hill Foods and Food Source stores featured donation boxes for Haitian earthquake relief at their check stands, which brought in more than $149,000.

Draft Common Core Standards Review - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Draft Common Core Standards Review - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Statement from State Schools Chief Jack O'Connell
on Release of Draft Common Core State Standards

SACRAMENTO – State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today issued the following statement regarding the first official release of the draft common core state standards.

"The draft common core state standards are rigorous and will better prepare students for college and careers in the 21st century," O'Connell said. "They are well organized to give a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn so teachers and parents will know what they need to do to help all students succeed in both college and the workforce. They are internationally benchmarked and will make us more competitive as a nation.

"The development of these standards has been led by the governors and chief state school officers in 51 states, territories, and the District of Columbia, along with teachers, school administrators, and other education experts. I encourage the public to review the draft common core state standards and provide feedback during the public comment period."

The Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors' Association led the development of the draft common core state standards in English-language arts and mathematics that provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare all students for college and the workforce. For more information on the draft common core state standards, please see Common Core State Standards Initiative (Outside Source).

Reporters seeking additional detail and comment from the California Department of Education may contact our Communications Division at 916-319-0818 to request an interview with Tom Adams, Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division.

Opportunity to learn, rush to equity | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Opportunity to learn, rush to equity | Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Opportunity to learn, rush to equity

by Guest blogger on Mar 10 2010 Posted in Community voices

• COMMENTS (0)PRINT
• EMAIL

  

This week's guest blog post comes from Herb Kohl who continues to be an educator and writer. His most recent book is The Herb Kohl Reader (New Press, 2009). He's also a NotebookMember.

---

Some suggestions for educational reform: I suggest we replace the Race to the Top with a Race to Equity, and find a way to introduce Opportunity to Learn articles into the ESEA reauthorization.

During the last attempt to rework ESEA I worked with Senator Paul Wellstone on building Opportunity to Learn ideas into ESEA. Let me explain our thinking then, which might be useful as progressives consider what specific suggestions to make this time through. 

When looking at school failure, consideration must be given to the situation and circumstances under which children learn. 

Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities dramatically documents the lack of opportunity presented to many poor children. Taking off from there, we raised the issue of how to negate those inequalities. The question that droves this analysis was: Do all children have the same opportunities to learn?

We were careful to avoid the question of poverty, family background, etc. because we wanted to make strictly educational arguments. We wanted to focus specifically on the conditions of schooling and make the opportunity to learn an equity issue. In this context we wanted to create a series of measures of equity, amongst which were:

• What are the facilities necessary to promote equitable learning?
• What is an equitable ratio of students to teachers?

The Perimeter Primate: “The Broad Effect”: Part Two

The Perimeter Primate: “The Broad Effect”: Part Two

“The Broad Effect”: Part Two

Read Part One here.

Because of his immense wealth and interest, billionaire Eli Broad is one member in a very small set of non-elected, extremely wealthy individuals who have acquired the power to determine U.S. public education policy and the future of our public education system. Most of the masses are not aware that public schools are being dismantled by the coup. For those who have caught on and are reading this, I offer you some information about him, all easily accessible on the internet. Just consider "The Broad Effect": Part Two my variation of the popular TV show, ""Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."

The Inauguration Party thrown by Broad for President Obama

Broad, a longtime Democratic supporter, was so thrilled at the election of Barack Obama that he threw what was described as “the most exclusive dinner of the week” to salute his friends who are members of 

Calling All Teachers: Your Voice Wanted on Common Standards - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Calling All Teachers: Your Voice Wanted on Common Standards - Teacher Beat - Education Week

Calling All Teachers: Your Voice Wanted on Common Standards

By Stephen Sawchuk on March 10, 2010 4:29 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

So reports Catherine Gewertz over at Curriculum Matters. Apparently, the groups leading the common-standards effort particularly want input into whether the new grade-level standards, which will be released this week, are "teachable."

Catherine makes a good point, however, in noting that teachers' comments on the proposals will be summarized rather than made broadly accessible, as they are for the federal-regulatory process. Why is that? Good question.

Education Research Report: Emotional Computer Tutor Improves Girls’ Math Scores

Education Research Report: Emotional Computer Tutor Improves Girls’ Math Scores

Emotional Computer Tutor Improves Girls’ Math Scores

As schools gear up for statewide testing of mathematics skills this spring, some students will be helping to fine-tune a computer-based, emotionally perceptive math tutoring software developed by University of Massachusetts Amherst computer scientist Beverly Woolf, Ivon Arroyo and colleagues, which can help certain students improve standardized test scores.

In earlier studies, the software has improved student math test scores by 10 percent, a critical difference for those who are struggling to pass. As Woolf explains, “Our original work was to find out where girls needed extra attention and how to give it to them. According to our studies, the extra support they need compared to boys is more about emotion than information.”

In April, in another round of studies supported by the National Science Foundation, Woolf and colleagues will offer the tutorials to students in study groups of about 100. They’ll be offered either a white, black or Hispanic learning coach by the software to enhance attractiveness. “We want to improve students’ relationship with math early, which can be so important to their career choices. Once you close off math, you close off most of the sciences, as well,” says Woolf. To prevent that, the program virtually assigns an individual aide to each student.

Woolf and Arroyo know from previous work that girls in fifth grade thrive on extra attention, and respond well to supportive characters and positive feedback. So they developed computer-based tutorials that use such techniques. Most recently, they’ve added sensors and cameras so the computer can recognize when students are happy or stressed, fidgeting, frustrated or feeling confident. Guided by such cues, the “learning companion” character reaches out with encouraging words to praise a student’s effort, offer a hint or suggest that trying again is an important aspect of learning.

As the computer scientist explains, “Girls get equally good grades and express interest in math and science at the same level as boys in elementar

Local students, teachers join large protest Elk Grove Citizen : News

Elk Grove Citizen : News

Local students, teachers join large protest

Photo by Keri Wood - During the Stand Up for Schools Day on March 4, Monterey Trail High School students concerned about the impending budget cuts stand out front with coffins representing the cuts proposed by the school district.

By Cameron Macdonald - Citizen News Editor

Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 9:49 AM PST

WITH VIDEO | A funeral was held on the Monterey Trail High School campus before school began on March 4.

Black-clad students planted wooden tombstones for teachers, librarians, counselors and athletic programs on a traffic island for parents to see while dropping off their children. Students also silently held up caskets for the same occupations and stood by the school entrance for drivers on Power Inn Road and television news cameras to view.

“Save our Schools,” was chanted to those passing by. Some protestors handed out fliers that asked onlookers to tell their state legislators to cease slashing education funding.

Student Cavina Vo expects she will lose many teachers and counselors next year. She held a sign that encouraged people to write to their legislators about the education issue.

“Where are we going to get help for colleges and our future if nobody is here to help us?” Vo said. “We need to do something before it’s too late.”

Vo and her classmates joined a nationwide protest against shrinking funding for public education that day.

A few thousand college students rallied outside the California state capitol while demonstrators blocked an Oakland freeway and attempted to enter one outside the 

How teachers and unions feel about turnaround Philadelphia Public School Notebook

Philadelphia Public School Notebook

How teachers and unions feel about turnaround

by Ron Whitehorne and Tricia Fussaro Posted in February 2010 | Permalink

School turnarounds often result in the dismissal of teachers, if not the entire faculty. It is no surprise that those who work in classrooms every day are highly skeptical of this strategy for improving low-performing schools.

“Blaming teachers for poor-performing schools is a solution in search of a problem,” said Sara Turley, a second grade teacher at Spring Garden Elementary. Instead, she said, “the District needs to rethink the way that it attracts, hires, and maintains a staff of high-quality teachers.”

Read More »

How Not to Complain About March 4 � Student Activism

How Not to Complain About March 4 � Student Activism

How Not to Complain About March 4

March 10, 2010 in Students

The growth of the student protest movement has sparked a series of debates about strategy and tactics, and those debates have gotten more intense in the wake of the March 4 Day of Action. Activists and their critics have legitimate disagreements about methods and goals, and those disagreements are now being aired in public with growing frequency.

I’m going to be talking a bit about those disagreements soon, but first I want to clear away some of the straw men that have popped up recently. If there’s going to be a debate, and there should be, let’s have it in good faith, with a coherent approach.

I read an essay this morning that suffers from all of the weaknesses that I’ve got in mind. In an opinion piece in the online journal Politics Daily, Muskingum College senior Joshua Chaney argues that March 4 represented a missed opportunity because “participants’ messages were mixed, their disruptions turned away other students and members of the public, and their voices often fell on the wrong ears.” That’s a legitimate argument, though it’s one I mostly disagree with. But unfortunately Chaney gets the specifics of it completely wrong.

Here are four things to bear in mind when writing, talking, or thinking about contemporary student protest:

1. Mixed messages come with the territory.

Chaney complains of the March 4 protesters’ “lack of a common voice and purpose,” calling for “clearer messaging.” That’s all fine nad dandy, but it avoids the central question: clearer messaging from whom?

The contemporary American student movement isn’t an organization or a political party. Nobody was screening March 4 actions and giving out credentials. There was no seal of approval. This was a grassroots event. Nobody was in charge. Nobody had the power to impose a common agenda on the events, because the events weren’t coordinated or conceived by a central body. Anybody could mount an action on March 4, and just about everybody did. That’s how social movements roll.

“Student activists are now taking divergent paths in determining what steps are next,” Chaney says. Well, of course they are. They weren’t all on one path to begin with. That diversity is a reflection of the vigor and vitality of the movement, but even if it wasn’t, it would be an inevitable result of the 

More Misleading Student Loan Commentary � The Quick and the Ed

More Misleading Student Loan Commentary � The Quick and the Ed

More Misleading Student Loan Commentary

by Ben Miller

Diane Auer Jones seems to have gotten the memo. Over at the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Brainstorm blog, Jones, a former assistant secretary for postsecondary education, continues the trend of poor commentary on student loans from former Republican education officials kicked off by Tennessee Lamar Alexander earlier this week. And the intentionally misleading twisting of the facts makes for one heck of a read. Take a sec and pop over there and then we’ll get down to some fact-checking.
Because the piece has a lot going on, let’s go through it one step at a time.
Jones writes:

On one hand the Administration is trying to garner support for another jobs bill, yet on the other, it wants to eliminate an entire industry.

No matter how you run the numbers, the entire student loan industry will NOT be eliminated. In the doomsday scenario, about one-third of the 35,000 jobs–about 11,550–could be lost, but it’s also possible that jobs could be gained. No one knows for sure. If there are losses, they are going to be in two areas: marketing and origination. Traditionally, loan origination means just moving the funds from the lender to the recipient. The student loan companies have twisted this a bit to include a series of amorphous functions that do not have a level of cost or 

CNSNews.com - Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says Some Public Schools Discriminate

CNSNews.com - Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says Some Public Schools Discriminate

Education Secretary Arne Duncan Says Some Public Schools Discriminate
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
By Penny Starr, Senior Staff Writer

U.S. Department of Education Secretary Arne Duncan talks with high school student D'Wan Lewis before making a speech stressing civil rights at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala. (Jamie Martin/AP Photo)

(CNSNews.com) – In a speech commemorating the 1965 “Bloody Sunday” civil rights protest in Selma, Ala., Education Secretary Arne Duncan referred to certain failing public schools in America as “dropout factories” and places that “seem to suspend and discipline only young African-American boys.”

“The achievement gap in our country is shameful,” Duncan said on Monday. He said some public schools are discriminating against students because of their race, gender, or disability by limiting their access to advanced and college preparatory classes. “Fifty-six years after Brown v. Board of Education, 45 years after Bloody Sunday, the achievement gap is still a cancer that imperils our national progress.”

“America’s school children cannot wait six years, or eight years, for pervasive educational inequities to fade,” Duncan said.

The National Education Association (NEA), the nation’s largest teachers’ union, issued a statement supporting the Obama administration's push to make sure schools are adhering to Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which is overseen by the Education Department.

“NEA applauds the Department of Education’s decision to step up the enforcement of civil rights laws in education to ensure that school districts across the country know their responsibilities to fairness and equal opportunity,” NEA President Dennis Van Roekel said in a statement.